Ford Center (Evansville)

Ford Center
Former names	Evansville Events Center (planning)
Location	1 S.E. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. Evansville, Indiana 47708
Broke ground	October 20, 2009[1]
Opened	November 5, 2011
Owner	City of Evansville
Operator	Venuworks
Surface	Multi-surface
Construction cost	USD $127 million[2]
Architect	Populous[3]
Project Manager	John J. Kish
Structural engineer	Thornton Tomasetti
Services engineer	M-E Engineers, Inc.
General Contractor	Hunt/Harmon JV
Capacity	Concert: 11,000 Basketball: 10,000 Hockey: 9,400
Tenants
Evansville Purple Aces (NCAA) (2011-present) Evansville IceMen (CHL) (2011-present)

The Ford Center is a multi-use indoor arena in downtown Evansville, Indiana. Designed by Populous (formerly HOK Sport), it opened in 2011 and has a maximum seating capacity of 11,000.^[4]

It was built to replace Roberts Municipal Stadium, and will mainly be used for basketball, ice hockey, and music concerts. It will host the University of Evansville Purple Aces basketball teams and the Evansville IceMen minor league hockey team of the Central Hockey League.

The Ford Center is bounded by Main Street, Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, Sixth Street, and Walnut Street. As planned, it will connect to a new convention hotel and the existing convention center.

The $127 million arena was approved by the Evansville City Council on December 22, 2008.^[5] Demolition work on the site began on December 5, 2009.

On August 17, 2011, it was announced that the Tri-State Ford Dealers had signed a 10-year, $4.2 million naming rights deal for the arena, giving it the Ford Center name. ^{[6] [7] [8]}

The Evansville Icemen played their first game at the Ford Center on November 5, 2011, defeating the Fort Wayne Komets 3-1. The Evansville Purple Aces played their first game on November 12, 2011, beating the Butler Bulldogs 80-77 in overtime. Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band performed the arena's first concert on November 9, 2011.

References

1. ^ http://www.evansvillearenaproject.com/content/timeline
2. ^ "City Council OKs arena plans". Evansville Courier & Press. http://www.courierpress.com/news/2008/dec/22/city-council-oks-arena-plans/. Retrieved 2008-12-24. 
3. ^ New Evansville Arena architect: Populous
4. ^ "Evansville Arena Facts". Populous. http://www.evansvillegov.org/download/mayors/Evansville%20Arena%20design%20unveil%20press%20kit.pdf. Retrieved 2009-09-09. 
5. ^ "City Council OKs arena plans". Evansville Courier & Press. http://www.courierpress.com/news/2008/dec/22/city-council-oks-arena-plans/. Retrieved 2008-12-24. 
6. ^ "Ford Motor Co. pays $4.2 million to name Downtown arena Ford Center". Evansville Courier & Press. http://www.courierpress.com/news/2011/aug/17/ford-motor-co-pays-42-million-name-downtown-area-f/. Retrieved 2011-08-17. 
7. ^ "New Evansville Arena To Be Named Ford Center". Ford Center. http://www.evansvillearenaproject.com/content/n%01ew-evansville-arena-be-%01named-ford-center. Retrieved 2011-08-17. 
8. ^ "Evansville Unveils Arena Name". Inside Indiana Business. http://www.insideindianabusiness.com/newsitem.asp?ID=49294. Retrieved 2011-08-17. 

External links

• Ford Center official website
• Interior/exterior of new Downtown arena official site Evansville Courier & Press

Coordinates: 37°58′19.88″N 087°34′4.24″W / 37.9721889°N 87.5678444°W / 37.9721889; -87.5678444